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Line(s) of the Day #CyrilleRegis

I kept it as a reminder of the evil some people had inside them. For the rest of my playing days, it was a motivation that they weren’t going to stop me.

As said by Cyrille Regis (1958 – 2018), the hugely inspirational and much loved former footballer, who has sadly passed. As well a huge goalscoring talent on the field, he also faced racist bigotry off the field which he dealt with a dignity and class that inspired later generations of black footballers. The quote refers to a bullet being sent to him before his senior England debut.

11 thoughts on “Line(s) of the Day #CyrilleRegis”

I had the pleasure of watching Cyrille Regis play many times – what a striker – yet also witnessed some of the horrific racial abuse that he (plus Laurie Cunningham and Brendan Batson) suffered. He always seemed to rise above it and must surely be remembered as a leader for racial equality.

Must have been such a joy. And what a delight to know he was such an inspirational person too. Talent and kindness don’t always match. I’ve read a lot about Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson too. Both wonderful too. Sad Laurie passed a while back too. Their legacy won’t be forgotten.

I don’t get it either. I was watching a 30 for 30 show about a race riot in Mississippi when a black student was legally permitted to enter classes. The vile hatred was scary. It needed the national guard to step in.

It was. Such a shame. He looked years younger and seemed to be in great health. One of those players who never had a bad word said against him. A lot of moving interviews with players who were inspired by him as a person and as a footballer.

So inspiring. A couple of the players like Dion Dublin and Brian Deane got very emotional when talking about him. They as good as said they wouldn’t have been footballers without him. He seemed to make time for everybody even when retired. A very sad loss.